Kard Gerland
Kard Gerland is a Second Generation Death Knight, in life having served honorably in the Silver Hand. Many of the order fell into darkness during the plague's slow spread across the northern portions of the Eastern Kingdoms, weeping darkness into the souls of even the most steadfast and upright of men - some were turned by the beguiling words of the Lich King on the expeditions they took to Northrend to try and cure the plague at it's source. It is unclear which group Kard originally belonged to those many years ago - he himself barely recalls. But what is certain is that he was among those who fell... The Early Years Kard Gerland was the only child to Corbin and Nicole Gerland that lived through infancy. He grew up a strong, adventurous boy in the very heart of Stormwind city. While his father drilled men on how to properly and tactfully use a sword, Kard would, until the age when he himself took up the blade, stand on the sidelines and copy their motions with a stick. When he wasn't watching his father or forced to attend schooling, he tromped around the city, getting himself in all sorts of trouble, causing his mother no end of worry. "Watch that boy, honey - he'll make something of himself some day!" Corbin's words for his son were almost always of praise, and he was a present father, sacrificing an illustrious military career to stay in the city and raise his son after his service in the Second War, paying for the boy's upbringing by opening a swordsmanship academy. As a teenager, Kard Gerland matured faster than his other peers, and turned to doing charity work with the Church of Holy Light as well as learning the art of the sword from his father. His skill with the blade and his keen sense of faith eventually landed him in a squirehood for the Knights of the Silver Hand. At the age of sixteen, he left home, not to see his family or friends until his Knighthood. As a Knight Kard had grown from a youth full of potential to a hard-working and gifted young man. His zeal for the Light was admired by his contemporaries, and his skill in melee combat was noted by all who saw it. But his calling early in his career as a Paladin was not on the field of battle - he was sent to far-flung places in the Eastern Kingdoms to do mission work and care for the sick, notably Stranglethorn, where he met his future wife - Victoia Isabella Louise. The relationship that grew between them caused her to (through a series of misadventures) abandon her background as an agent of Booty Bay's criminal underworld and join Kard on his many travels and journeys. After about a year and a half, the couple returned to Stormwind and married. They bore two children - Aden and Elizabeth. Kard was present for their infancy. His mother died of 'a long illness' that could not be cured by the Light shortly after the younger, Elizabeth, was born. Despite this, He, Victoria, the children, and his father lived together in the same third-story, four-room apartment in Stormwind...until disaster struck. The Third War The war had come, and the call had been sent out. Kard returned to the kingdom of Lordearon to answer his duty as a Knight of the Silver Hand, leaving peace, his loving wife, his strong father, and his beautiful children behind with bitter tears in his eyes. During the war, he and his compatriot Knights saw nothing but destruction and death. The plague had taken many, turning them into horrible undead monsters The Silver Hand did what they could, trying to heal the sick or ease their passing, and sending them to eternal rest when they inevitably turned. The Knights were few, however, and their enemies many. Soon, Arthas had been driven mad, disbanding the Silver Hand at the gates of Stratholme before the Culling. Shattered and Disillusioned, some of the Paladins who remained formed their own splinter groups - Uther himself, still alive, was a powerful icon of centralization for the remaining Holy Knight. Despite what Arthas had done, Kard felt some pride for the Prince, whom he thought misguided and insane (but not alltogether evil), when he announced his planned expedition to Northrend. The Paladins whom Kard served with travelled the Plaguelands, continuing their quest to help survivors and to quicken the permanent passing of the sick, but many, including Kard, fell into depression, bitterness, and anger. Their hate consuming them, one by one, they turned themselves over to the will of the Frozen Throne, beguiled by power, immortaility, and the hopelessness of the living versus the tenacity and unstoppable will of the dead. As a Death Knight For many long years, Kard served the will of the Frozen Throne with those who had fallen just as he had during the Third War. For years and years, he butchered, regardless of age, gender, or occupation. Soldier, farmer, mother, and student fell alike to his blade. Little did he know what was coming next. With the majority of the Death Knights recalled to Northrend, he and the others awaited for their chance to devour and destroy the living. They spent years concocting their plagues, perfecting their swordsmanship, building their armories...they rallied as Naxxramas was sent to the continent, and planned further upon it's return. Through the events surrounding the re-opening of the Dark Portal, they sat, planning...waiting. Then the day finally came. Mortals of every race poured into Northrend, armed and ready for war. Kard was amongst those fighting in the forces of the Scourge, relentless and utterly barbaric - few in his path survived, and none stayed dead for long. But, the war was looking grim - the combined forces assaulting the Scourge neared Icecrown, their line creeping closer and closer. It seemed as if they would win. He and the other Death Knights left sharpened their blades, crafted their finest runes into their weapons and armor, and took to the field as the armies of the Horde, the Alliance, the Ebon Blade, the Scarlet Crusade, and many others poured onto the desolate, ruined land surrounding the Frozen Throne. In his last fateful battle fighting for the Lich King, he came across the Archdruid Maforis on the field - they fought long and hard, apparently evenly matched until Maforis released his true powers and managed to secure Kard's capture by the Ebon Blade. That day, he was freed. Ever since, he was worn the tabard of the Ebon Blade, the black sword of freedom emblazoned upon it. He fought, the war ended, and the Lich King was dead. Afterwards, many Death Knights scattered to the winds, or withdrew into secret places, or simply committed suicide. Kard was not one of those. There have been reports of him wandering the wilderness in both the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, a tall warrior, clad in saronite, his gritty blade flashing by his side, his bright eyes glowing like blue coals in the night. Perhaps in his travels, he will find the peace he has been so long without. Category:Characters